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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. object — a thing
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. band — a ring
  5. object — an aim
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. land — to come down
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bat — the animal
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. object — to protest
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. band — a music group
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. roll — on a roll

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com